From the ashes of the Paramounts, a
commercially unsuccessful British R&B band, rose
Procol Harum, which established itself early with the
landmark single A Whiter Shade of Pale. Unlike other
"progressive" rock bands of the time, Procol Harum didn't use
string arrangements and classical melodies to disguise the fact
that it couldn't write or as a way to seem more important than it was. On the
contrary, it wrote concise pop songs that were
magnificent, beautiful, haunting, mysterious, and hummable. Gary Brooker and
Keith Reid are obvious choices when discussing what made Procol Harum tick, but
BJ Wilson is possibly one of the most underrated drummers ever (slightly less
manic than Keith Moon and far more stylish), and the many guitarists who played
with the band (Robin Trower went on to huge success as a solo act) all provided
flash and taste. Things tended to sound bombastic or pretentious at times, but
you always got the feeling that the band was winking at you all thewhile.
For example, is A Salty Dog a sailing song or is it the story of
conception? Only Reid knows for sure. But ProcolHarum
ran out of inspiration a couple of albums before it quit recording for the first
time (the group reunited in 1991). Brooker, Reid, and Matthew Fisher have
recorded and toured together recently, and much of the magic has returned with
them.

What to buyA Salty Dog (rating 4.5) (A&M, 1969, prod. Matthew Fisher) has
the title song, So [sic] Much between Us,
Fisher's Boredom, and probably the strangest drinking song everrecorded,
The Devil Came from Kansas.

What to buy next
Powerful production, good songs, great guitar solos, and some wonderful
counterpoint singing on Fires which Burn Brightly make Grand Hotel (rating
5) (Chrysalis, 1973, prod. Chris Thomas) a surprising and consistently fine
album.

What to avoid
On Something Magic (rating 2) (Chrysalis, 1977, prod. Procol Harum, Ron
Albert, Howie Albert) the band sounds too tired to do anything but go for the
formula and hope for the best. It didn't work, and the band broke up shortly
after.